A Scottish employment tribunal on Thursday began hearing an unfair dismissal case brought by sacked employees of Rockstar Games, the studio behind the hotly anticipated video game Grand Theft Auto VI.
Three other employees were also dismissed in Canada, but they are not covered by the proceedings. lul/jj/ach GTA This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Twenty-three of the UK-based former staff have brought the claim, with the tribunal hearing set to last until October 16 as the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain seeks their reinstatement or compensation. Because of alleged trade union membership or activity, rockstar has insisted they were “dismissed for gross misconduct following the sharing of confidential company information, not.
Thirty-one UK employees were fired in October along with three staff in Canada, for allegedly sharing confidential information on the Discord platform, according to US-owned Rockstar. Branimira Yordanova, who was laid off from her role as a lighting artist, said her sacking left her worried about losing her home. “To say the impact was devastating doesn’t do it justice,” the 31 year-old told AFP, adding that while she had managed to find a short-time contract following her dismissal, that work had now ended.
It has also noted the dismissals occurred a few days after the union reached a membership threshold in relation to Rockstar that required the company to recognise it for collective bargaining. The case comes ahead of the November 19 launch of the latest instalment of GTA one of the most iconic and best-selling titles in video game history and follows its months-long delay and controversy over recent leaks. Since the 1997 original, the gangster shooter series has sold more than 470 million copies worldwide. – ‘Disgruntled’ – Rockstar operates several UK sites, with the claimants previously working at its offices in Lincoln in eastern England and the Scottish cities Dundee and Edinburgh, the latter being where it developed GTA VI.
“We reject the claims and will defend them vigorously before the tribunal,” it added in a statement. In opening arguments Thursday seen by AFP, the studio claimed that nearly 350 people were participating in the Discord forum, “including disgruntled ex-employees, competitors and a journalist” known for his critical articles about the franchise. Rockstar alleged some members made insulting comments about management, while others mentioned its security protocols, GTA VI’s development status and game features, which it called “one of the most closely guarded secrets of the company”. Its development has been shrouded in the utmost secrecy, but leaks from an unknown source revealed unseen footage one of the biggest breaches in gaming history and prompted Rockstar to release an extended preview in late August. – ‘Devastating’ – In their opening submissions, the claimants’ lawyers stated that the Discord exchanges occurred on “a secure, private, invite-only platform” for Rockstar employees and IWGB representatives, and not the public. They alleged the company was “clandestinely monitoring” the chat through two “moles” who were passing information to the human resources director. The IWGB also claims the workers were targeted owing to their union activities and deems the manner of the dismissals “illegal”, noting the absence of disciplinary procedures or a right of appeal. “You feel like, by being a union member, you put a target on your back,” Lloyd Knott, one of the claimants who worked on GTA VI’s visual effects, told AFP in Glasgow where the tribunal is sitting. Around 40 people massed outside Thursday carrying banners denouncing “union busting”.
The game set in a fictionalised version of Florida is on track to become the biggest-ever launch of an entertainment product, and comes some 13 years after the last instalment.
The firm a subsidiary of US giant Take-Two Interactive also noted it was “hypersensitive” and “hypervigilant” about leaks surrounding the upcoming release.
